2005 volvo s40 T5

[mikeman]

Im thinking of buying a 2005 volvo s40 t5.It has 33k miles on it and is $12k.I was wondering what people thought are on this car mechanically wise,will it last me a long time?I am 21 and dont want to have to spend a lot of money on repairs.What are your thoughts?

 

[oneeightyseven]

I can't comment on the car in question, but 33k is extremely low. And a respectable car for 12k? To me it sounds like a good deal. I've seen kids your age spend 15+ on RSXs with 60-100k.

 

[mikeman]

^Those are my thoughts exactly,I just hope i dont have to repair it often.I research the hell out of things and out of 100 reviews,there will be 5 bad,and then I get all worried.

 

[oneeightyseven]

There was a recent thread on a volvo model. I don't know if it was the model in question, but a few members were quite happy. Volvos, for the most part, seems to be pretty reliable. Again, I just cannot comment about his model in particular.

 

[justinpba]

I used to have an s60 but some friends have had s40s and loved them. The volvo forum swedespeed could give you a lot of insight before you buy.

 

[mikeman]

^thanks,why did you get rid of yours.Also are they extremely expensive to maintain,lots more than say a mazda?

 

[JPYPSU07]

From what I understand the Volvo S40 and the Mazda 3 are relatively the same car and both are very good cars. That sounds like a really good deal with only 12k miles. Volvos are volvos and they are very reliable cars.

 

[justinpba]

Originally Posted by mikeman

^thanks,why did you get rid of yours.Also are they extremely expensive to maintain,lots more than say a mazda?

Actually I rolled it on an icy back road, but my roomate at the time liked it so much he bought the same car and has had his for like 150k now. As far as maintenance goes, they're pretty dependable (how many old volvos do you still see on the road even if they are owned by ford now) and the maintenance costs weren't bad, much cheaper than my audi or beamer were. Hope this helps.

 

[Sol05]

I drive the 2007 S40 and its very cheap to maintain; cost around 260 at the dealership to service.everything else is covered with the warranty.very reliable vehicle.

 

[Cavalier]

Originally Posted by Sol05

I drive the 2007 S40 and its very cheap to maintain; cost around 260 at the dealership to service.everything else is covered with the warranty.very reliable vehicle.

05 probably doesn't have much of a warranty any more?

I'd be concerned about the maintenance costs.

I always felt there was a reason why used Volvo, Saabs, Volkswagens, Audis (to a lesser extent) etc. sell for so cheap only after 2-3 years...

 

[visionology]

I've known people with Volvos outside the warranty and the maintenance costs were high. If you are in warranty thats great, however how much long will your warranty last?

 

[uhurit]

Originally Posted by visionology

I've known people with Volvos outside the warranty and the maintenance costs were high. If you are in warranty thats great, however how much long will your warranty last?

+1. Out of warranty service/repairs on Volvo's are very high. The S40 is generally a reliable car...except for the T5 high-pressure turbo version by definition being a minus reliabilty-wise. So, average reliablity all in all

 

[Cavalier]

I always figured that had to be a reason people were willing to pay top dollar for Hondas and Acuras, while you could find a Jaguar, Saab or Volvo for a similar price.

 

[Asterix]

I don't and have never owned an S40 but my older brother in the UK has 2 of them and as far as he has shared, they are excellent cars. Now on the issue of maintenance after warranty, any European car used in the US would cost more to maintain than their domestic counterpart. On the issue of depreciation in prices, similar cars have fairly close depreciation rates but it seems worse with the higher end cars because they are not cars that are bought everyday by the average majority which in essence points to demand and perception as being 2 strong factors.

 

[justinpba]

Originally Posted by Cavalier

05 probably doesn't have much of a warranty any more?

I'd be concerned about the maintenance costs.

I always felt there was a reason why used Volvo, Saabs, Volkswagens, Audis (to a lesser extent) etc. sell for so cheap only after 2-3 years...

Audis are junk, that's why they sell for so low, volkswagens aren't that expensive to begin with and are more in the honda price range without the reliability, Saabs are american and just not that popular with the younger crowd (read people who would most likely buy a used luxury car) and Volvos still are seen as more of a safety-mobile than a luxury car. But they are quite nice. See if the car does still have the factory warranty. If it does and maybe even if it doesn't talk to the local volvo dealer about getting it CPO'd. It'll cost you about 2500 I think but will be good til 100k or 2015. You can also probably buy a decent warranty from the dealer. For a car that's only costing you 12k anyway this wouldn't be bad idea.

Originally Posted by visionology

I've known people with Volvos outside the warranty and the maintenance costs were high. If you are in warranty thats great, however how much long will your warranty last?

Maintenance or repair costs? Also what kind of volvos? Some of the awd cars have issues that can be quite costly (especially xc90s and s60rs) but actual maintenance costs are about 1/3 to 1/2 of most other luxury cars.